Ambassador may be spluttering towards last miles of its life

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An icon of Indian industry and a ghost of British motor manufacturing, the Ambassador car is synonymous with driving on the subcontinent’s dusty and potholed roads.

Yet the days of the “Old Lady” – modelled on the Morris Oxford III – could be numbered after an indefinite strike shut down the only production facility. Hindustan Motors, the oldest Indian carmaker, suspended production three weeks ago after violence at the Uttarpara plant near Calcutta landed several workers in hospital.

A handful of vehicles made before the biggest union declared a strike over pay last month were taken to dealerships, but production